We shot 24 like a feature film: Anil Kapoor

29/07/2016

Anil Kapoor’s phone hasn’t stopped ringing since 24’s second season premiered over the weekend. “It’s amazing how much enthusiasm season two has generated. We wanted to work on a second season only when all of us were sure we had the time and energy to do it uninterrupted,” reveals Anil, who plays Jai Singh Rathore on the show. “Even before the season began airing, we had completed shooting 18 episodes with just six more to go.”
24 has been Anil’s pet project, right from its inception, and the veteran actor was determined to go about it the right way. “We did everything in style,” he explains.
“We Indianised the original show a bit and luckily the feedback is tremendous.” Anil says that the series was never treated like a television serial, but as a movie. “We shot it like a feature film and even had a premiere for the first episode. We even had to make the first episode pass through CBFC. I must say Pahlaj (CBFC chief Nihalani) was very sweet about it, considering the board has never certified a serial.”
The mood of the series is a lot darker now, with Anil’s character also seen locking lips with Surveen Chawla. “This is not a light hearted soap or sitcom,” sighs Anil. “It’s a political thriller. My character is shown to be in a relationship with a woman. I’ve kissed in films when there has been a need to and in 24 the lip lock was very much needed. It’s about time we stop making a fuss of it. The content in 24 is not juvenile and we’re looking at a series that has certain international standards to uphold.”
The actor hopes that the second season of the show will be bigger than its predecessor. “We’ve made some alterations this time. Characters that were not in the original have been added and new plot twists introduced. In this way we not only get viewers who are die-hard fans but also new ones.”
There’s no doubting Anil’s commitment to the series, and the actor says that he won’t start working on any feature film right away. “For me there’s no difference between shooting a feature film and 24; I’ve set aside all my film assignments. I never let my work overlap. This is the only way to work in the world of television. You can’t treat the medium as a space filler,” he says emphatically. We couldn’t agree more.

Share This Story


Comment On This Story

 

Photo Gallery

  
BSE Sensex
NSE Nifty